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Avalanche trades O'Byrne

Colorado gets '14 fourth-round pick from Toronto

By Adrian Dater The Denver Post

Posted:
04/03/2013 11:14:44 PM MDT

DENVER -- Those hoping for a big selloff by the last-place Avalanche on NHL trade deadline day were disappointed, as the Avs made only one trade, dealing Ryan O'Byrne to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fourth-round draft pick in 2014.

Judging from the words of general manager Greg Sherman, no other big changes are likely in the foreseeable future. Despite the team's 30th-place standing in the NHL and failure to make the playoffs for the fifth time in the past seven seasons, patience remains the watchword for the organization blueprint. Despite the Avs' record, it is not time to blow things up, Sherman said.

"I believe in this hockey team and I believe in the foundation that we have here," Sherman said. "We all believe in it, from our entire operation on down. But obviously we deserve the criticism we're getting, and I understand that. Clearly, the foundation is in place and we need to build on it."

For the Avs, that means getting what figures to be a good player from this year's draft, possibly the first pick if things stay the same in the standings. That means keeping the young core of players in place, and adding to them as best as they can.

Does that mean keeping coach Joe Sacco in place, for the final year of his contract next season? Sherman declined to address Sacco's job security, but said "part of (our) plan, one of the components of it is patience. I understand the passion of our fan base, but I'm very optimistic about the future of this hockey club.

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O'Byrne, a native of British Columbia, played parts of three seasons with Colorado. While a popular member in the dressing room, his play -- like a lot of Avs players -- suffered this season. In 34 games with the Avs, he had one goal and three assists and a minus-8.

O'Byrne is making $1.8 million this season and can be an unrestricted free agent in July. The Avs end up getting something for a player who they probably would have lost for nothing.

"We certainly appreciate everything Ryan did for our franchise. He's a consummate pro," Sherman said. "He was very good for the Avalanche while he was here. Given where he was at in his contract, we were able to get an asset back for a contract that was expiring."

In a brief interview with Canada's TSN after the trade, O'Byrne tried to size up what went wrong with the Avalanche this season.

"It's tough to say. Obviously in a shortened season, we lost a few in a row and things kind of snowballed there," O'Byrne said. "But there are good young players coming up there and I think they'll be a good team for years to come."

While there were a few big trades Wednesday around the NHL -- with Marian Gaborik going from the Rangers to Columbus -- deals were tougher to make this year.

One big reason: The NHL's salary cap will be reduced from $70.2 million to $64.3 million next season, so bigger contracts were tougher to move.

Also, the shortened, 48-game season has allowed more teams to consider themselves contenders for the playoffs, leaving few teams that were true sellers.

"It was a quiet day," Sherman said. "There were several calls that I received regarding players on our team, but players on our roster that I believe in and our organization believes in. We did get inquiries throughout the day, and it shows what we have in place here. We have a very good young core. The foundation is very solid, and on days like today you get affirmation of that."

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